Rates of smoking during pregnancy have increased for the first time on record, NHS figures show.

Cuts in smoking cessation services have been blamed for the rise, which puts more women at risk of miscarriage and endangering their baby’s health.

NHS Digital data shows 10.8% of women were smokers at the time of delivery in 2017/18, up from 10.7% the year before. It marked a halt in progress that had seen rates fall from 15.8% a decade earlier towards a target of 6%.